Spring-driven motor.



A. C. RUTZEN.

SPRING DRIVEN'MOTOR.

- APPucATmN FILEDJULY 6. 1914.

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H. 6'. RurzEN Al C. RUTZEN.

SPRING DRIVEN MOTOR.

APPLICATION FILED 1uLY6. 1914.

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A. C. RUTZEN.

SPRING DRIVEN MOTUR.

APPLlcATloN man xuLve. 1914.

Patented Apr. 11, 1916.

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THE COLUMNA PLANOGRAPH CD.. WASHINGTON. D. C.

A. C. RUTZEN.

SPRINGJDBIVEN MOTOR.

APPLICATION man June, 1914.

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' A. C. lRUTZEN. SPRING DRIVEN MOTOR. APPLICATION FILED JULY 6.- 1914.

Patented Apr. 11,1916.l

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srniNG-nnivniv Moron.

Speciicaton of ietters Patent. fipatentjed Apr. il, y11916.

Application filed J' uly 6, 1914. Serial No. 849,232.

idea in allV f said applications being to ut'ilize a fraction of thetotal energy developed' in the machine to automatically re-wind thesprings, and the'remaining portion of the ypower for strictly powerpurposes.

ln the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a. sectional elevation of themachine on a` luie corresponding substantially to afi-fc, Fig. 2' is avertical cross section on the Fig. 2. line of the axis or main shaft ofthe machine and at right angles to Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa sectionalelevation of the machine on a line corresponding substantially to 3-3,Fig. 2.

Fig. al. is a horizontalplan viewon the line of the axis or main shaftand one of the spring shafts.

mechanism as hereinafter described. Fig. p8 is an elevation of oneof thespring shafts and parts thereon partially in sectiong'rFig... 9 is anend elevation of Fig. 8; Fig. l'O is across section of a spring shaft'andtheV outer spring and housing thereon, and Fig. ll is a crosssection Vof -F ig. '8 onv line @I4-y, and partially sectional. Fig. l2represents 'details o'f parts shown in Fig. 8 andFig. .9. Fig. 13 is adiagrammatic view illustrating.

the working relation of the pairs ofsprings.

As thus shown B represents the base of the machine and C'the casingerectedthereon. 'and which preferably is circular and hermeticallyclosed tov be dust proof.` In

fact all the operating parts areY confined within the said casing andbase except a single exposed end of the main shaft S from which power istaken through the sheave or pulley Z; thereon. I Y

The powei herein derived from a series of springs mounted in two pairson` a series of shafts s supported kin ballbearings in an internal framework, D, Supported from or rigid with the base B. The said spring shaftss are disposed in a circle about the appertains to springv Figs. 5, 6and 7 are sec-V tional details of portions of the ie-winding I centralvshaft S, which fact is the driven shaft of the machine but is alsoreferred to as the power shaft, since power is taken therefrom for use.'The said several springk carrying shafts shave two sets loi' pairs of'springs each mounted thereon as will-pres ently be seen,'and saidsprings areadapted to impart their power 'to the shafts s and cause themto rotate vand convey power to the main shaft S through a series ofgears 4, 5, and 6, which, in this instance, are 0fy the Asame size.

The gears e are rsplined or otherwise affixed toy or upon shafts s, andtwo of the said gears on adjacent shafts mesh with or` in a singleintermediategear' 5 which, in

turn, meshes with the single gear 6 on shaft S. The gears 5 areymounted' on studs on the interior frame D, and in a senseare'. idlersbut serve to transmitthe power"'from lthe spring vgears i to the centralgear 6, which rotates shaft S. Thus, there isla graduated reduction inthe power transmitting members from Vthe eight primary or spring gearsto the four intermediate or idler gears and thence to the singlelcentral Y *,gear'G. v` vThe power springs or coils c and c aire'vdiagrammatically illustrated in Figl. It'. has been found that'with asingle coilfof a flat spring ofthe quality required for this kindofworkl the total length of the coil at the moet cannot beV great, andas the spring requiresA considerable strength there was `liable to bemore or less excessive strain or Y shockat the end ofthe windings,which` if manifested, lwas deemed objectionable. `T0 j relieve theseconditions "aswell, as to provide prolonged energy to the 'springVbetween lwindings I have demonstrated herei'nfthe practicability of Aa`'double or du'alcoil, one v coilbeing a working part V,of thev otherand both' working together as Vone spring.

It willibe seen that each spring'orc'oil c and cf vhas its `own-housingy7i and t, the .major or outer housing it being fixed by screw orotherwiselto the shaft s through the hub thereon to rotate therewith,andthe provided with]` a laterally projecting lhub covered by housingvihaving the inner end of` coil c engaged therewith. The outer end ofsaid .coil c isiixed at f tothe inner peinneror minor housing 71, freeon said shaft ri'phery of thehub Coil c is engaged at 1 g to the innerperiphery of the housingh V and" at its opposite' or innert end of thehub Y of ratchet disk CZ, which is covered by hous- Vvals by the toothedsegments 8 spaced evenly apart on the side of the gear wheel G. Thesedetails provide for the winding up of the springs with gear G as theactuating medium, and the rotation thus afforded is communicated throughthe ratchet d to ratchetV l which carries the spring coil c about itshub and has its outer' end ixed to the inner periphery of housing z,free on shaft s, and having the inner end of coil c iixed to the hubthereof. l-gence as the inner coil c is wound the winding action isdirectly communicated to the coil c and the winding of both springs orcoils proceed uniformly and at the saine time. Both the relations of thesprings and their practical continuity as onespring serve to avoid anyotherwise possible congestion when winding occurs and the shocker strainherein referred .to as a not uncommon experience .with single andcomparatively short stift` springs. v Y

lThe gear G is free on shaft S and is in driving relation from the flywheel F as the initial factor in the rewinding operation'the saidV wheellikewise is free on said shaft, the idea being to remove the 13e-windingas far as practicable from the power shaft and thus reduce or minimizethe expenditure of energy for the 11e-winding of the springs;v

rlhe fly wheel, of course, is designed to be kept under a high rate ofspeedand is of such weight and size that it absorbs and does not showthe otherwise momentaryy check which would result from the repeater re-Winding operations. The initial step in rewinding is to put energy intothe said iiywheel, and this is effected through gear wheel G splined konthe opposite end of shaft S from that occupied by gear G, and meshingwith a pinion l0 on a short shaft or stud l2, Fig. 3. `A gearl wheel i3is fixed on this shaft or stud and meshes with a pin-y ion` 11i' onanother short shaft, l5, which carries gear 16 on its opposite end andmeshes with pinion 18 on the hub of the fly Wheel and which is free onthe said shaft.

Power or momentum from the fly wheel is communicated to the wheel Gthrough pinion 2l on a counter shaft 20, Fig. 1 meshing with said gearG, and said shaft 20, is rotated intermittently or at predeterminedintervals by means of a sector 25 pivoted at 26 on the main frame andhaving a lever or arm 27 which is operatively connected with gear 16,Fig. 5, by means of a link 29. The said link is eccentrically pivoted onthe side of gear 16 and adjustable in said arm 27 according to the throwdesired for the seg- VFig. 5, which also agrees with Fig. 7.

' time.

ment 25, and a modification of this operating connection is seen in Fig. 6 and Fig. 7 wherein the arm 27 is slotted lengthwise at its outerend and has adjustable connection with a controlling gear 3l having aradial slot through which the said arm is adjustably secured. Thisconstruction is present in Figs. G and 7, and lis a modification of rlhedistance of rotation of gear wheel G through which re-winding isei'ected is thus easily controlled. ln liig. 5 the series ofperforations through arm 27 serve'this purpose.

. It will be es aecially observed that the inner spring c is rotatedbodily asthe winding of the Vouter spring proceeds, but the outer springc is liXed at on housing 7L against any rotation, and the power proceedsto shaft s through the housing it fixed thereon and the said connectionf from both springs. ln other words re-winding occurs through one sideat the expenditure of energy through the other side of said springs. Thetwo sets or pairs of springs on the shafts s and the correspondingratchets CZ and CZ have their complementary segments on opposite sidesof the gear wheel G, but adapted to operate at dierent times orsuccessively so that one or the other pair of springs on theY same shaftis wound at a time, but not both atthe same vt may also be noted that itwould be possible to carry the winding of the springs to excess, inwhich case there would be danger of breakage in some portion of themachine. l. have, therefore, provided means in the line of mechanismbetween the'fly wheel and the springs to control the tension of thewindings, and the said means comprise the segment 25, and theimmediately associated parts seen in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, as hereinbeforedescribed. f

Respecting the operation of the machine herein described, it shouldbeunderstood that l'do not claimlthat the machine will run perpetually,nor do l. 'mean to liX any length of time that it will run, because muchwill depend on the kind and amount of work that is put upon it. However,l do claim that the machine will douseful work for a longer or shorterperiod, subject torconditions, and that by the kind of springs and theirdisposition in the machine and the rewinding, mechanism substantially asdescribed, the duration of operation is materially prolonged over whatwould be possible with the same springs without such rewindingmechanism.

What l claim'is: Y

l. ln a spring motor, a shaft and two separate spring supports thereon,one of if which isfiXed to the shaft and the other rotatable, and aspring coil in each support having direct spring connection through thesaid rotatable support. e

2. In a spring motor, Ya shaft and two spring housings side by sidethereon, one of which is zzed and the other rotatable, a ratchet. diskoperatively related with said rotatable housing and springs in saidhousing connected up for joint action through said ratchet disk.

3. In a spring motor, a pair of springs and a shaft, a ratchet disk freeto rotate on said shaft and havingrone of said springs aiiixed theretoat its inner end, and a support for the outer end of the other springrigid with said shaft.

e. In a spring motor, a shaft and fixed and rotatable housings mountedthereon and a ratchet disk by the side of said rotatable housing, incombination with va spring in each of said housings, the spring in saidfixed housing having one end affixed to the hub of the rotatable housingand the spring in said rotatable housing having one end afIiXed to thehubof said disk, and means to v rotate said disk and wind said springs.

5. In a spring motor, a shaft and a pair of springs thereof operativelyconnected and separate housings to which the outer ends of said springsrespectively are attached, a winding ratchet having a hub engaged by theadjacent spring and a hub on the next adjacent housing engaged by theother spring.

6. In a spring motor, a shaft and outer housing having a hub Xedthereon, an inner housing having a hub rotatable on said shaft and awinding up disk having ahub within said inner housing, and a spring ineach housing having its outer end fixed to its housing and its inner endXed to a hub therein, whereby the winding up disk is adapted towindvboth springs uniformly.

7. In arspring motor, a shaft, a pair of coiled springs about said shaftand the inner spring free at both ends to be rotated about Y Copies ofthis patent may be obtained for Y In testimony said shaft and the outerend of the outer I spring in fixed relation to the shaft and rotatabletherewith, whereby winding of both springs together is possible and thetwo springs expend their energy in like manner upon said shaft.V

8. In a spring motor, a series of springs and re-winding mechanismtherefor com-r prising means to increase Vor ydiminish the re-windingdistance comprising a sector and pinion in mesh and an arm rigid withsaid sector adapted to be adjusted lto change the lthrow of said sector.v

9. In a spring motor, a series of power springsfand means to rewind thesame automatically comprising .a fly wheel, ratchet machanism inconnection with each set of'.v

springs, a gear wheel adapted to successively engage said ratchetmechanism 4and to rotate intermittently at predeterminedv distances,

v.and means between said gear wheel and said fly wheel adapted vtolengthen or shorten said distances of rotation according to re-.

quirements 'of the power springs.

10. In a spring actuated motor, a series of power springs and mechanismstherewith lto v re-windthe same, in combination.v with a Vgear wheeladapted to successively operate AUGUST o. RUTZEN.

Witnesses F. J. FREER, j It. B. MOSER.

iive cents Veach, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington,D. G.

